Surah Az-Zumar 39:71

How the Disbelievers will be driven to Hell

Allah tells us how the doomed disbeliever will be driven to Hell by force, with threats and warnings. This is like the Ayah:

(The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing.) (52:13) swhich means, they will be pushed and forced towards it, and they will be extremely thirsty, as Allah says:

(The Day We shall gather those who have Taqwa unto the Most Gracious, like a delegation. And We shall drive the criminals to Hell, in a thirsty state.) (19:85-86) When they are in that state, they will be blind, dumb and deaf, and some of them will be walking on their faces:

(and We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf; their abode will be Hell; whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire) (17:97).

(till when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened.) means, as soon as they arrive, the gates will be opened quickly, in order to hasten on their punishment. Then the keepers of Hell, who are stern angels, severe and strong, will say to them by way of rebuking and reprimanding:

(Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves,) meaning, `of your own kind, so that you could have spoken to them and learned from them,'

(reciting to you the Ayat of your Lord,) means, `establishing proof against you that what they brought to you was true,'

(and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours) means, `warning you of the evil of this Day.' The disbeliever will say to them:

(Yes,) meaning, `they did come to us and warn us and establish proof and evidence against us,'

(but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!) means, `but we rejected them and went against them, because we were already doomed, as it was decreed that we would be, because we had turned away from the truth towards falsehood.' This is like the Ayat:

(Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: "Did no warner come to you" They will say: "Yes, indeed a warner came to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never revealed anything; you are only in great error."' And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!") (67:9-10) which means, they will feel regret and will blame themselves.

(Then they will confess their sin. So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!) (67:11) means, they are lost and doomed.

(It will be said (to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...") means everyone who sees them and the situation they are in, will testify that they deserve the punishment. These words are not attributed to any specific person, but they are said as an indication that the entire universe will bear witness that they deserve what they are suffering, in accordance with the judgement of the Most Just, the All-Knowing. Allah says:

(It will be said (to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...") meaning, `to stay there forever; you will never leave or depart.'

(And (indeed) what an evil abode of the arrogant!) means, `what an evil destiny and what an evil place to stay, because of your arrogance in this world and your refusal to follow the truth; this is what has led you to this, what an evil state and what an evil final destination!'

Pada ayat ini, Allah menerangkan bahwa orang-orang kafir yang mempersekutukan Allah dengan yang lain seperti berhala dan sembahan-sembahan lainnya digiring ke neraka dengan cara kasar. Mereka digiring secara berkelompok dengan mendahulukan kelompok yang paling sesat dan durhaka kemudian diikuti oleh kelompok yang lebih rendah tingkat kedurhakaannya dan demikianlah seterusnya. Setiap satu rombongan sampai ke neraka dibukakan pintu neraka itu dan mereka didorong dengan kuat sehingga terjerumus ke dalamnya. Hal ini jelas tergambar pada ayat berikut ini:

Maka celakalah pada hari itu bagi orang-orang yang mendustakan. Orang-orang yang bermain-main dalam kebatilan (perbuatan dosa), pada hari (ketika) itu mereka didorong ke neraka Jahanam dengan sekuat-kuatnya. (Dikatakan kepada mereka), "Inilah neraka yang dahulu kamu mendustakannya." (ath-thur/52: 11-14)

Tertutuplah pintu neraka sesudah semua masuk ke dalamnya tersebut pada ayat:

Sungguh, api itu ditutup rapat atas (diri) mereka, (sedang mereka itu) diikat pada tiang-tiang yang panjang. (al-Humazah/104: 8-9)

Mereka dihardik, dicela, dan dihina oleh malaikat-malaikat pemegang kunci neraka dengan mengatakan bukankah telah datang kepada mereka rasul Allah dari kalangan sendiri yang menyeru supaya patuh dan taat kepada Allah, serta tidak mempersekutukan-Nya dengan yang lain. Rasul itu juga membacakan kepada mereka ayat-ayat Allah yang membuktikan kebenaran dakwahnya dengan dalil dan keterangan yang kuat dan jelas sehingga tidak dapat dibantah lagi? Mengapa mereka menolak seruannya dengan angkuh dan takabur? Mereka tidak dapat menjawab pertanyaan itu karena telah menghadapi kenyataan bahwa mereka akan masuk neraka. Mereka mengaku terus terang bahwa merekalah yang bersalah karena mendustakan rasul Allah karena didorong oleh hawa nafsu, takut kehilangan pengaruh, kedudukan, dan sebagainya. Pengakuan seperti itu terdapat pada ayat berikut:

Setiap kali ada sekumpulan (orang-orang kafir) dilemparkan ke dalamnya, penjaga-penjaga (neraka itu) bertanya kepada mereka, "Apakah belum pernah ada orang yang datang memberi peringatan kepadamu (di dunia)?" Mereka menjawab, "Benar, sungguh, seorang pemberi peringatan telah datang kepada kami, tetapi kami mendustakan(nya) dan kami katakan, "Allah tidak menurunkan sesuatu apa pun, kamu sebenarnya dalam kesesatan yang besar." (al-Mulk/67: 8-9)